Bioterrorism and other high consequence biological events can result in mass casualties, epidemic illness, healthcare worker illness, environmental contamination, legal issues, and cause unease within the medical community and the community at large.
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What are symptoms of biological warfare?
Results: The six most common presentations reviewed are: 1) respiratory tract symptoms; 2) hemorrhagic fevers; 3) meningitis and encephalitis; 4) flaccid paralyses; 5) fever syndromes with rash; and 6) diarrheal syndromes.
What are the effects of biological agents?
Biological agents include bacteria, viruses, fungi, other microorganisms and their associated toxins. They have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild, allergic reactions to serious medical conditionsโeven death.
What are the effects of chemical and biological weapons?
The now routine journalistic association between chemical and biological weapons and the word terror confirms that the purpose of these weapons is to wreak destruction via psychological meansโby inducing fear, confusion, and uncertainty in everyday life. These effects will take two forms, acute and long term.
What happens when biological weapons are used?
Once a human is infected, the resulting disease can either develop into bubonic plague, which is difficult to transmit among humans and fairly easy to treat with antibiotics, or โ if the infection spreads to the lungs โ it becomes pneumonic plague, which develops rapidly and does not respond well to antibiotics.
When was the last time biological warfare was used?
The last known incident of using plague corpses for biological warfare may have occurred in 1710, when Russian forces attacked Swedish troops by flinging plague-infected corpses over the city walls of Reval (Tallinn) (although this is disputed).
What are some examples of biological weapons?
Among the agents deemed likely candidates for biological weapons use are the toxins ricin, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), botulinum toxin, and T-2 mycotoxin and the infectious agents responsible for anthrax, brucellosis, cholera, pneumonic plague, tularemia, Q fever, smallpox, glanders, Venezuelan equine …
What type of hazard is biological attacks?
Biological hazardsโviruses, bacteria from fecal matter and sludge, or molds.
Can biological weapons be cured?
For many biological weapons, there is no specific treatment or vaccine. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Is biological warfare illegal?
In particular, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) bans the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons. Therefore, the use of biological agents in armed conflict is a war crime.
What are the four types of biological weapons?
- anthrax.
- botulism.
- plague.
- tularemia.
- smallpox.
- viral hemorrhagic fevers.
What is bioterrorism and how can it impact on human health?
A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs to cause illness or death. These germs are often found in nature. But they can sometimes be made more harmful by increasing their ability to cause disease, spread, or resist medical treatment.
How do chemical weapons affect the body?
The most critical effects are paralysis of the respiratory muscles and inhibition of the respiratory center. Ultimately, death results due to respiratory paralysis. If the concentration of the nerve agent is high, death is immediate.
What are the causes of biological warfare?
Biological warfare is the deliberate use of disease-causing biological agents such as bacteria, virus, rickettsiae, and fungi, or their toxins, to kill or incapacitate humans, animals, or plants as an act of war.
Which is worse chemical or biological weapons?
Chemical and biological weapons carry various levels of risk. Toxic chemicals could be aerosolized or placed into water supplies, eventually contaminating an entire region. Biological weapons possess greater catastrophic potential, as released bioengineered pathogens might spread worldwide, causing a pandemic.
Who first used biological warfare?
One of the first recorded uses of biological warfare occurred in 1347, when Mongol forces are reported to have catapulted plague-infested bodies over the walls into the Black Sea port of Caffa (now Feodosiya, Ukraine), at that time a Genoese trade centre in the Crimean Peninsula.
How do we prepare for biological warfare?
- Build an Emergency Supply Kit.
- Make a Family Emergency Plan.
- Check with your doctor to make sure everyone in your family has up-to-date immunizations.
Which biological agent inspires the most fear?
There are many ways to implement a biological attack, but these are some of the most feared agents, from least to most threatening: Ebola virus — The virus takes about a week to kill the victim, and it spreads through direct contact.
Does the US still have biological weapons?
End of the program (1969โ1973) President Richard M. Nixon issued his “Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs” on November 25, 1969 in a speech from Fort Detrick. The statement officially ended all U.S. offensive biological weapons programs.
How many biological weapons are there?
Although there are more than 1,200 biological agents that could be used to cause illness or death, relatively few possess the necessary characteristics to make them ideal candidates for biological warfare or terrorism agents.
What diseases have been weaponized?
Weaponized agent Historical biological weapons programmes have included efforts to produce: aflatoxin; anthrax; botulinum toxin; foot-and-mouth disease; glanders; plague; Q fever; rice blast; ricin; Rocky Mountain spotted fever; smallpox; and tularaemia, among others.
What constitutes a biological weapon?
Overview. Biological and toxin weapons are either microorganisms like virus, bacteria or fungi, or toxic substances produced by living organisms that are produced and released deliberately to cause disease and death in humans, animals or plants.
What chemical weapons does Russia have?
Approximately 80 percent of the Russian stockpile is nerve agent. The specific agents in the Russian Federation stockpile are Sarin (GB), Soman (GD) and viscous Soman, Mustard (H), Lewisite (L), Mustard-Lewisite mixture, Phosgene, and Russian VX.
What are the 4 types of biological hazards?
- Biological agents. Some biological hazard examples under this classification include bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi (such as yeasts and molds).
- Biotoxins.
- Blood and blood products.
- Environmental specimens.
What are the 6 biological hazards?
- Human blood and blood products. This includes items that have been affected by blood and other body fluids or tissues that contain visible blood.
- Animal waste.
- Human body fluids.
- Microbiological wastes.
- Pathological waste.
- Sharps waste.